Trip End Notes

Classes over! We have crammed in years of course work in history, geography, theology and international politics  into 6 weeks. At the same time, we have spent invaluable time with one another. We have been enriched by the experience in ways we planned as well as in ways that that we will never know.  We thank God for this spectacular opportunity and the staff at the office for holding down the fort in our absence. We are forever grateful to them!!

We made it safely to MN! To God be the Glory!!!! 

As we settle into regular routine, we now begin to imagine what, if any territory Ojemba will conquer next year. Further east—China; closer to the mother continent, Africa; or other parts of our adopted country, United States.  Or stay in MN. 

Thoughts on Greece

This Ojemba blogpost will be incomplete without comments on Greece and its people and how our experience in Greece compares with the Turkey experience. First, we found the people of Greece very welcoming, generous and interesting. 

The relationship between the two countries is a very delicate subject, and which we can’t wade into here. But the centuries’ old rivalry with Turkey is more palpable in Greece than in Turkey. It is a sour subject to bring up Turkey, or tell locals that you visited Turkey and had a good time there. And for sure, do not mistake the countries or their cities in conversations. One Greek driver’s first question was: honestly, what do they think about us; they still believe that Greece belongs to them.  The Ottoman Empire may have ruled part or all of modern day Greece for better part of 400 years, but that was a long time ago. It is Ojemba's opinion that there may be some parallels between the relationships of these two counties and that of India and Pakistan.  It doesn’t help that for the Greeks, Istanbul or Constantinopolis as they still refer to it, is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church and remains of religious significance.   

The Turks seemed a little miffed about not being able to join the EU (and maybe rightly so) but mostly relaxed about Greece except on the Cyprus question but even then they have lots of other and more pressing issues – Syria, the Kurds, etc.  It probably helps that their economy is booming so they can relax and enjoy the good times.

The economic crisis in Greece seems to have had a huge impact on the locals. Though we did not have the privilege of visiting Greece before the financial meltdown, it appears to us that this place has been hit real, real hard. It is visible everywhere you look.   Graffiti all over Athens gives a wrong vibe about this place, and makes it unattractive; which does not help the tourism industry. Some guides estimate a reduction of about 40 percent in tourism between 2011 and 2012. And there is no end in sight. 

Conversations with locals inevitably veer towards the subject of politics. With problems ranging from school closures, high unemployment, hooliganism and the effect of the Euro currency on the Greek economy, it is easy to understand why people will question the rationale of remaining in the Euro zone. While in Turkey we saw a vibrant economy, robust infrastructural investment, in Greece those are lacking. And with the Euro, it is more expensive to visit here than Turkey. At the end, the destiny of Greece lies with Greeks.

It is difficult to imagine this problem being solved while Greece continues using the Euro currency. All creditors, foreign and domestic have to agree on that the survival of the economy is so important that they agree to wipe out most if not all their debt—not just giving the country a new payment plan. This is highly unlikely.

Some minor setbacks we encountered:

We got a speeding ticket on our way from Sanliurfa to Gazientep. Fine 138 Turkish Lira. The officers thought it was hilarious that we could not communicate with one another. They gave Paschal a glass of cold water, and with broken English communicated the offense and punishment. Got the ticket, and had to give the rental car guy the money to settle the ticket.

On our way back, we misjudged the gas reserve we had in our car. While running out of benzene gas, we stopped by a couple of Patrol stations who told us that we had to drive several kilometers before we can get the gas. Some stations that sell Patrol do not sell benzene. We finally ran into an entrepreneurial young man who solved the problem for us. We backed into the back of a neighbor shop and they siphoned benzene gas into our car – “just like buying petrol on the road in naija”.  Thank God it was not adulterated fuel.

Healthwise, we had a good trip.  A few allergic reactions to nuts – Carrying around Piriton was a life saver.  Otherwise, a few cuts and bruises – nothing major.  However, one of the kids brought strep with them from the US and we noticed the scarlet fever bumps while still in Istanbul but did not connect it to strep.  After a week of progressively getting worse, we finally made the connection – we got antibiotics from the pharmacist and then everything cleared up.